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THE BROADWAY LEAGUE REVEALS “THE AUDIENCE FOR TOURING BROADWAY” FOR 2007-2008 SEASONJuly 02, 2009Word-of-Mouth Most Influences Show Selection and the Internet Has Surpassed Phone Sales to Become Most Popular Way to Purchase Tickets

The Broadway League has released its sixth edition of the demographics report, The Audience for Touring Broadway 2007-2008. Updated on a biennial basis, it tracks profiles of audiences throughout the country, analyzes changes over time, and denotes the unique characteristics and theatergoing habits that distinguish “road” audiences from Broadway theatergoers in New York. The report demonstrates the importance of tours not only to their local markets, but also to the Broadway industry overall in terms of revenue, visibility, and audience development.

The analysis is based on extensive survey data gleaned from audience questionnaires distributed throughout the Fall 2007 through Fall 2008 at 51 representative theatres across the United States.

“The mission of The Broadway League is to insure that Broadway is made accessible to audiences across the country. With over fifteen million attendees of touring Broadway shows, we believe that we are accomplishing that mission,” said Charlotte St. Martin, Executive Director of The Broadway League.

Highlights from the analysis include:

Although the local newspaper was still theatregoers’ primary source for theatre information, the use of the Internet, particularly venue’s websites, has grown substantially.

The Internet has surpassed phone sales to become the most popular way to purchase tickets.

The average Touring Broadway attendee saw six shows in the 2007 – 2008 season.

Women were more likely to make the decision to purchase tickets to the show than men, and 70% of tickets were purchased by women.

The average age of the Touring Broadway theatregoer was 50 years old.

The vast majority of theatergoers were Caucasian.

Seventy-three percent of the audience held a college degree and 32% held a graduate degree.

Forty-three percent of national theatergoers reported an annual household income of more than $100,000, compared to only 22% of Americans overall.

Forty-four percent of respondents were subscribers to the “Broadway Series” at their local venue.

Twenty-seven percent of national theatergoers also attended a Broadway show in New York City.

The Audience for Touring Broadway is published biennially by The Broadway League, the clearinghouse for information on the business, demographics and economic impact of Broadway theatre throughout North America. The League compiles various statistics and publishes extensive reports on a number of topics. Printed versions of the reports are available for purchase online at: www.BroadwayLeague.com under Research and Information.

About the Methodology
From Fall 2007 through Fall 2008, the Broadway League’s Research Department worked with marketing directors across the country to survey the audiences of Broadway tours. Taking into consideration subscriber vs. non-subscriber performances, musicals vs. plays, variances in performance times, and time of year, questionnaires were administered at selected performances. Survey results were weighted based upon each theatre’s paid attendance for their touring Broadway shows.